Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Happy Ayyam-i-Ha!

I wanted to share a little bit of our Ayyam-i-Ha preparation and celebration! Abraham is now old enough to really get into it, so it's been a lot of fun coming up with activities and starting family traditions.

First step in building holiday anticipation - decorations! Abraham decorated the house with cut-out hearts and stars, which was easy for me and gave him complete ownership over the process. I also liked that this also meant the decorations were down at his eye level, so he could enjoy them.





Posing so I could snap a photo.

I made the pinwheels actually for a baby shower, but with the idea in mind
of keeping them up for Ayyam-i-Ha decor!

The one on the bed was "for Daddy."



I love the placement of these two hearts together.

So patient for me to snap another photo! :)




Ayyám-i-Há is a Baha'i holiday celebrated from Feb. 26 – Mar. 1. It is a time devoted to spiritual preparation for the Baha'i Fast (which begins March 2nd), celebrating and praising God, hospitality, charity, and gift-giving.

"It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name…"

Friday, February 22, 2013

overscheduling

After hearing about some friends who are enrolling their three-year-old in several activities (ballet, etc), Anderson and I started talking about whether we should enroll Abraham in soccer this year, or what kinds of things we might want to enroll him in the future. Our take on it was more to see what he's interested in and follow that, rather than arbitrarily signing him up for something and hoping that he likes it. So when he came into the room while we were talking, I asked him, "Would you want to join a soccer team with other kids and play soccer?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to do ballet?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to learn to play an instrument, like piano?"

"Yes."

"Violin?"

"Yes."

"Guitar?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to take a dance class?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to ice skate?"

"Yes."

"Rock climb?"

"Yes."

He was rapid-fire agreeing to everything, so we started getting extreme. "Go mountain climbing?"

"Yes."

"Jump out of an airplane?"

"With a parachute?" he asked.

"Yes." I said.

"Yes." he replied.

"Without a parachute?" I asked, to clarify.

"Yes." he said.

Okay then! We've narrowed that down!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

meditations on immortality

We were eating lunch when out of nowhere, Abraham says with surprise, "Mommy, we're NOT dying!"

I simply agreed, deciding not to go in the more morbid direction of arguing that we are all slowly dying, with each passing day. You know, because he's 3. But this assertion of his runs along the same lines as other questions that come up some time like, "Why am I still small?" "Am I four yet?" "Why is Gabriel still a baby?" Time is moving too slowly for his liking. For me, I can't believe how fast he's grown.

THINGS ABOUT ABRAHAM

1. He likes to negotiate. He's got his own opinion and is not afraid to share it. For instance, he asked me around snack time, "If I eat two carrots, can I have some chips?" I said, "Sure. Do you want two carrots or one carrot and one celery?" "How about just one carrot?" "But you said two." "How about no carrots, just chips?" What! He's the one who brought up carrots to begin with! And he still had to negotiate it down.

2. We had a dance party the other day. Not to Raffi or Disney songs, but The Smiths, Juanes, Ok Go, Andy Grammer. Kid's pretty eclectic; pretty diverse selection. Just need some techno and rap to round it out. I'm accepting toddler-friendly recommendations.

3. He asks why. ALL the time. About everything. I am endeavoring to really appreciate this quality rather than allow it to exhaust me. I don't KNOW why that guy is wearing a red shirt. I really don't. But along the same lines,  when he asks me what a new word means, the English teacher in me is so so psyched about it. I will define words all day long for you, my dear! I hope he will always be so bold about asking questions, and not fall into the habit many of us have of not asking for fear of looking ignorant, and so ignorant we remain.

4. He says beautiful kind things that make my heart explode. Today we were reading a book that was about finding your talents. I asked Abraham what his talent is and he said, "Serving people." So lovely!

5. Some days, he gets completely eaten alive by his parents. He is the cutest ever! Sorry, all other boys! :)